UK warns of humanitarian crisis in Iraq

London - Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warned on Monday that a humanitarian disaster of massive scale was brewing in northern Iraq, as he promised action to help the afflicted.

However, Hammond, who chaired a meeting of the government's emergency security committee, said he does not envisage a combat role for British troops in Iraq.

With media replete with stories of suffering and atrocities, Britain's government is being called to account. The Daily Mail newspaper featured a photograph of the prime minister while on vacation, walking barefoot down a beach under the headline: "Now UK must join bomb raids on fanatics, say MPs."

Other European leaders were also feeling the pressure. France called for an urgent meeting of European Union foreign ministers to consider Kurdish requests for arms and an aid airlift to northern Iraq.

The ambassadors of the EU's 28-member nations plan an emergency meeting on the security situation in Iraq, Gaza and Ukraine on Tuesday.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton could call a meeting of higher-level officials if a majority of the ambassadors request it. However, no such decision is expected, an EU official said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

British cargo planes carrying drinking water and tents have dropped some emergency supplies to the Yazidi community, a minority group besieged by Islamic militants in the Sinjar mountains in northern Iraq. But the efforts stalled in the past day because crew members were unable to find a place to drop supplies amid a crush of desperate people.

Hammond said the government had examined "options available to us to step up our humanitarian support, including obtaining better situational awareness of what's going on on the mountain, both to facilitate the air drops and to start planning how we are going to get people out."

IS makes Boko Haram look like angels. They are far more vicious and cruel that anything this world has seen since the 2nd World War. I do however agree that yes, the DRC also needs help, so does Nigeria. Palestine already has enough support it seems.

3
0

Raymon McNelly
2014-08-11 09:34:48 PM

Ag ffs Shabeer. Wake up you effing moron! I wish Israel would just carpet-bomb all the Muslim scum out of Gaza. Why don't you do your Islamic duty and go there!

0
1

Dan Canny
2014-08-12 12:16:23 AM

@Sabeer you and all muslim nut cases are anything but peace loving, as 99% of conflict these days involves muslims in Africa and world wide...just varies on how extreme you are and ALWAYS targeting soft targets!!!

0
1

Rory Neil Price
2014-08-12 08:19:39 AM

Sabeer you idiot Iraq,Syria and Nigeria dwarf Israel their you peaceful friends are beheading children, mass executing civilians in the name of almighty Allah, you Moslems remain silent

1
1

Shabeer Gallant
2014-08-12 01:13:55 PM

The US and its Cronies 'The UK being its biggest Ally' is supplying Isis with weapons and training, they are also supplying the Iraqis the Kurds the lebanese the israelis the Egyptians the saudis the Qatar's the Kuwaitis the Yemenis the Afghanistan's, the Taliban the jordanians hell they supply every armed group in the middle east with weapons. I wonder who is benefiting from all this murder and mayhem?

1
0

Anthoula Joshua
2014-08-11 09:03:09 PM

We will not stop praying for these people. Someone must help them. They are completely defenceless against IS. They have no where to run.